Front Suspension
Mach 1 1994 front suspension reassembled
Like the rest of the snowmobile, the front suspension needs a lot of love. Nothing major, but all of the main components such as the PRS suspension arms, shock absorbers, steering rods and hubs, must be removed, sanded, painted and certain parts powedercoated. The bolts and nuts will be sent to redo the yellow zinc plating.
Ski-Doo Formula PRS type snowmobiles of this generation are relatively complex regarding the front linkage. Access to some of the bolts of the crossbars are located below the engine. All those who have already worked on these models know what I am talking about. After a hard day’s work, the front is completely disassembled and ready for the next step.
Stripping of parts
There are several methods to remove the paint. In my case, we will use two different techniques. For smaller parts installed on the inside of the cabin, that do not require as much durability in the face of bad weather, I am going to sand and then paint them. Before proceeding, it is necessary to degrease them thoroughly so not to contaminate the sand and cover some parts in order not to damage certain surfaces. I used several layers of electrical tape to hide the threads on the rod and used corks or rubber stoppers to plug threaded or machined holes. It’s all in the preparation; otherwise the next steps will be more difficult. In precipitating these steps, I had to redo the threads on some parts.
The external parts will be powedercoated. I dealt with a company that specialized inthis process. For the stripping, they use an acid basin, and the advantage with this principle is the reduced preparation time. All the grease and paint will be removed without risk of damage to the thread and bore so it’s a less aggressive method to keep the original finish as much as possible. To apply the powder, on the other hand, the unpainted surface will still need to be covered. Baked powder paint, being more stringent, removed only the sprayed paint.
Rusty PRS suspension arm before stripping
1 twisted ski leg
Zoom on the twisted ski leg
Simple front shock absorbers
To remove the springs from the front shock absorbers safely, it is advisable to have the correct tooling. The first attempt almost ended in a disaster, hence the important mention of using the right tools! … At first glance, removing the spring seems child’s play. It is quite surprising how much tension these small springs can have to remove the retaining ring. It took me almost a day to remove a spring with the means at hand. The first attempt was with long screwdrivers and various bars without success. Second test was with automotive spring compressors. It worked, but with a lot of stress and time. One of the rings came out under pressure and bounced a good 30 feet before getting lost below the workbench. Kimpex offers an affordable compression tool, and I recommend it for this type of work. These are “one size fits all” tools that should work for most applications.
This automotive spring compressor is not designed for this type of application
High Lifter – high capacity suspension spring tool installed – 214688
With the right tool, it is a job of a few minutes
Shock absorber disassembled ready for sandblasting
Preparation before sandblasting
Sanded crossbar
Preparation of parts
Final assembly
After receiving the painted and powdercoated parts as well as the new zinc coated parts, there are still some parts to be found, such as plastic and rubber caps that have not stood the test of time. Often, after several years, many parts are discontinued and are no longer available directly from the manufacturer. It is possible to find them in inventory at older dealerships or on the web such as eBay.
It is with great motivation that I undertake the final assembly. A lot of time has already been spent, but it will only take me one big day to complete the work. The steps follow one another. Suspension arm and post, shock absorber, steering parts and finally, the skis. Nothing to report, no breakage or bad surprise. The result is a reward for all the effort put in. The next step, the exhaust system!
